(UCS – RS) “ The Hammurabi Code, a block of stones 2.25 meters high, is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Of the many articles of law engraved on it, about 250 have already been deciphered. With that, information about Mesopotamian society could be revealed.” (FIGUEIRA, D. História. São Paulo:Ática, 2003, p. 26).
Analyze, as to their veracity (T) or falsity (F), the statements below about Mesopotamian society and its code of laws:
( ) The so-called Law of Talion (talionis , in Latin, means “such” or “equal”) first appeared in the Code of Hammurabi. She preached the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, that is, the offender was subject to a punishment proportional to the damage caused.
( ) The Code of Hammurabi deals with the most varied subjects related to everyday life. It covers, among other topics, the regulation and exercise of professions, setting the remuneration of workers and norms regarding marriage, assistance to widows, orphans, the poor, etc.
( ) In most societies today, the Law of Talion is no longer applied. However, there are countries in the Middle East where you still pay an eye for an eye, literally. In Saudi Arabia, Yemen and some of the United Arab Emirates, thieves have their hands cut off.
Check the alternative that correctly fills the parentheses, from top to bottom:
a) V – F – V
b) V – V – V
c) F – V – F
d) F – F – V
e) F – F – F
question 2It can be said that the Code of Hammurabi was coined with the aim of:
a) divide the lands of the Mesopotamian region between Jews and Babylonians.
b) legally organize the administrative structure of the ancient Persian civilization.
c) establish a legal system that would give order to the civilization of Ur.
d) establish a legal system that would give order to the civilization of Babylon.
e) structure a unified empire between Macedonians and Babylonians.
question 3(Fupac/2013) The first record of laws we know about is the Code of Hammurabi. Below is the transcript of four of his articles:
Article 2:If someone accuses a man and the accused dives into a river and sinks, the accuser can take possession of his house. But if the river proves the accused innocent and he escapes unharmed, then the accuser will be executed, and the accused will take his home.
Article 200: If a man has pulled a tooth out of another free man like him, his tooth will be pulled out .
Article 201:If he pulls out a vulgar man's tooth, he will pay a third of a mine of silver .
Article 202:If a man has struck the face of another man who is superior to him, he shall be struck sixty times before the assembly with a whip of oxhide. .
The Code of Hammurabi is a creation of:
a) Phoenicia, and does not establish equivalence between the punishment and the crime committed.
b) Mesopotamia, based on the principle of Talion's Law “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”.
c) Greece, and does not rule out the possibility of a divine judgment.
d) Mesopotamia, and the penalty for the crime did not depend on the social position of the victim and the aggressor.
e) Greece and established rules and rights for all subjects, but with privileges to the ruling classes.
question 4The code of Hammurabi is considered the oldest record of legal text in history, comprising about 280 articles engraved on a huge block of stone. This code was erected at the time when:
a) The Akkadians expanded their dominions over Mesopotamia.
b) The Roman Julio-Claudian dynasty extended its dominions over Palestine and Mesopotamia.
c) The first dynasty of the Amorites dominated and subjugated the other civilizations of Mespotamia.
d) The Arabs and Bedouins defeated King Hammurabi in Uruk.
e) Muhammad subdued the Babylonians in Egypt.
answers Question 1Letter B
The code of Hammurabi absorbs the principle of the law of extreme reciprocity between the offense and the penalty applied and formulated it in its text. This principle was already in force in the Mesopotamian region, however, it only had a systematic character in the text of Hammurabi, which applied to all domains of the subjects' lives, ranging from the simplest aspects of everyday life to the resolution of crimes. Even today, in Middle Eastern countries, there are penalty enforcement devices that resemble the old “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, as in the example of the thief, mentioned in item 3 of the question.
Question 2Letter D
Hamurabi was one of the kings of the first Babylonian dynasty. His code, considered the oldest legal record in history, was erected with the aim of giving order to the civilization of Babylon, regulating it, and guiding the conduct of its subjects.
Question 3Letter B
The Babylonian civilization, which gave rise to the code of Hammurabi, is one that flourished in Mesopotamia. The code referred to was formulated by the king who gives it its name (Hammurabi), and is therefore a typical Mesopotamian product.
Question 4Letter C
The Amorites, or Amorites, as they are also known, are the people who gave rise to the city of Babylon, and are therefore also called Babylonians. It was a king of that city, Hammurabi, who established the code of laws that bears his name.